A knitted heart

I bought Christmas magazines and got hundreds of new ideas. That was bit of a promise, 'cause one of the magazines was called "101 Idéer" which is "101 Ideas". So this beautiful hearth was introduced in the magazine. It was knitted from different yarn and felted in the washing machine. And as the magazine was written in Swedish, I could not completely understand the instructions, so with a little help from my best friend I made my own version, which I think is even more cute than the original. I used needles sized 3 1/2 mm and the wool yarn, which I usually use for thick stockings.

This is how I made it:
1. Cast on three stiches.
2. Knit st stiches during the whole heart. Increase 1 stich in the beginning and in the end on each right side row by working into front and back of the first and the last stich. Continue untill you have 38 stiches.
3."Bubbles"
Knit bubbles by making five stiches out of one. (knit the front and the back loop in turns to create five stiches before letting the stich fall of the needle. Knit these five new stiches back and forth three rows and then knit all five together on the right side. You have created a bubble. Continue knitting st stiches until the next bubble. I made bubbles on every fifth row,  approximately after every 7 stiches;  1-2-3-4-5-6-5-4 pcs.  as shown it the picture.
4. When you have 38 stiches in the row, knit 12 rows without increasing and then decrease in the beginning and in the end of every right side row by knitting two stiches together until you have 30 stiches. Knit st stiches four rows.
5. Bind off.
6. Make the back piece of the hearth likewise, but without the bubbles.
7. Make a handle by knitting st stiches with 8 stiches until you reach the lenght you wish.
8. Sew the pieces together on the back side.
9. Sew a small bag out of a fabric (f.e. flannel). Sew it inside the hearth like a lining. Fill the extra space inside the heart with cotton wool before sewing the lining.

10. The hearth is now ready to be filled with candy, small gifts or ginger breads to greet your friends or family, or even the postman at the front door!